The state of Istanbul announced new decisions regarding the renewal of tourist residency for Syrians whose passports have expired without the need to renew them at the consulate of the Syrian regime.
The director of the Immigration Department in Istanbul, Recep Batu, said in a meeting with representatives of civil society organizations that Syrians can apply for a “humanitarian” residency for a period of two years if they do not wish to return to the regime’s consulate.
Batu added that “every person who has a tourist residence permit or a work permit under a tourist residence and whose passport has expired and does not want to go to the Syrian consulate in order to obtain a new passport, has the right to apply for a two-year humanitarian residence.”
Pato indicated that humanitarian residency was previously granted to Syrian refugees by the Turkish Ministry of Interior, but now it will be granted by the immigration departments in the Turkish states.
Batu stressed that the mother and father who hold a tourist residence permit and have given birth to a child in Turkey have the right to apply for a humanitarian residence permit for the child without obtaining a passport for him.
He also stressed that the previous decisions will be made after the security authorities verify the validity of the person’s issue and identity, stressing that humanitarian residency does not include holders of the “Kimlik” temporary protection card.
Syrians who hold a tourist residency card suffer from the renewal of passports at the regime’s consulate in Istanbul because of previous Turkish decisions that require a new passport valid for six months to renew residency.
Syrians pay hundreds of dollars to renew their passports at the regime’s consulate, as it costs $325 to obtain a regular passport and $825 for an urgent one.
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